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Category: Colored stones

Sky and water often come up in discussions of blue. Topaz, boulder opal, and chrysocolla are the Mediterranean through a snorkeling mask. Blue chalcedony and certain iolites look like a hazy eastern sky. Turquoise and azurite are more like the…

Many jewelers are no more certain than the rest of us exactly why they resonate with the blue-green of chrysocolla or the deep indigo of azurite but have no interest in, say, a pale aquamarine. “It’s more the value and…

French painter Raoul Dufy once called blue “the only color which maintains its own character in all its tones. Take blue in all its nuances, from the darkest to the lightest – it will always stay blue.” Keep that in…

Paula Crevoshay has always designed around stones, and she’s never been one to shy away from a bold interplay of hues – in fact, that’s pretty much what turns her on. “As a designer and a painter, color is close…

Trent Mann was painting canvases and sculpting full-time when he started his lapidary business 21 years ago. He learned production carving from Larry Woods, another Dallas-based gem artist, but has always taken a painter-and-sculptor’s approach to gem carving. Trent also…

A master machinist, Lew Wackler is famous for reviving long-forgotten lapidary techniques using 19th-century machinery that he restores himself. For many years, Wackler made his living producing art objects that looked like they came from the houses of Faberge or…

Sherris Cottier Shank has always been fascinated by moving water, particularly waterfalls and streams. She spent years studying and photographing water in natural settings before attempting to portray it in gemstone. No cutter alive can transform stone into water like…

World’s largest aquamarine carving, the 10.363-carat Dom Pedro, goes on display Thursday at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. It’s no surprise to find the carver chosen to sculpt this 14-inch obelisk was Bernd Munsteiner. Those familiar with…

by Cathleen McCarthy • April 24, 2012 • Comments Off on Season of JAR: a connoisseur’s approach to gems

As yet another eye-popping jewel by the Bronx-born designer known as “JAR of Paris” goes on the block next month, a few observations of what a designer can achieve by going against convention when it comes to gemstones.